The Ross Chronicles
by iely.CeC
Summary: Kourtnee Ross is a meteor freak. She and her father, both on the run from Morgan Edge, flee to Smallville to find safe haven...or so they think. better than summary. :reviews are greatly appreciated:
1. Prologue

A/N: this is my first fic so tell me what you think of it. It is set around season 3 and for story purposes, Morgan never died. Everything else remains the same pretty much. Like I said, feel free to leave a review. Honestly tell me how it is. Oh and the hospital and gunshot stuff probably isn't accurate as far as healing and blah…if you're willing to look pass that I think this is a fairly good intro. Oh I own nothing of course, just Kourtnee and Eric Ross.

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><p>Her heart beat rapidly, feeling as if it would burst out of her heavily heaving chest. She fought to catch her breath; shutting tight her eyes she shook her head. There was no stopping now. Army boots thudding against asphalt as her feet seemed to kick into hyper drive as she ran for her life.<p>

Pitch black of the night blinding her view, making it hard to navigate the already unfamiliar surroundings. It felt as though she'd been running for hours, the adrenaline coursing through her veins being the only thing keeping her going. That and maybe the fact that she once again wanted to see the light of day.

Spotting an approaching large metal gate, she thanked the heavens for the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. Her mind thought to rejoice, however she refused to give in to the mental celebration. It wasn't over just yet.

Casting a quick glance over her shoulder, she saw them hot on her heels. She didn't have time enough to wonder how she'd landed herself into this mess. It had been there in front of her face the whole time. She'd been warned, threatened even; however it wasn't much to wonder, she supposed. What with her fearless never-say-die attitude, she was bound to end up at the wrong end of the barrel. And here she was. Again.

Their bellows turning to shouts, their calls increasingly demanding. Her breath hitched as shots fired, thundering through the alley. Sparks fly as they ricochet off the concrete, hitting stray trashcans and shattering beer bottles.

The gate now mere inches away, focusing her eyes between the bars she concentrated before closing them and picking up speed, leaving the chasing men with nothing but feint swirls of electric blue smoke.

"Hey!"

Upon opening her eyes she glanced over her shoulder to see the gate behind her. She continued running obstacle free.

"HA!" she exclaimed following vainglorious laughter.

It was short lived however; as she rounded the corner she came to a slamming halt as a pair of strong arms violently snatched her up, swiping her from her feet. Kicking and grunting flailing her arms about, she tried to fight off her captor to no avail. Left with nothing else to do, she embarked on her last resort.

Her body stilling in the imprisoning hold, a crackle sounded, followed by the hum of charging electricity. She frowned, as the jolt of lightening that radiated from her skin did no damage to the man holding her. With another hum she frantically tried once more only to find him completely unscathed.

"No, no. Not this time, my little lightning bolt."

Struggling again, this time she felt restraints. Looking down she saw some sort of jacket that he'd wrapped her in. The man chuckled, tightening the binds on the thick black jacket that acted as an insulator.

"Plastic, doll," She jerked her head away at his gruff whisper in her ear, "This time you're not getting away."

Pushing her along with the barrel of his gun, he watched her stumble toward the getaway car. After watching the doors slide open she rolled her eyes, reluctantly entering the windowless van. Crouching down uncomfortably in the corner, she cursed the constricting plastic.

The man followed in after her, sliding shut the door, encasing them in darkness. Her eyes widened as they adjusted to the blackness. With a signaling tap on the roof the van jerked, beginning its drive forward.

"Surely you didn't think you could get away did you?"

Seeing clearly now, she saw that his face was just as rough and ugly as his voice. Noting the scar on his left cheek, she bristled.

"Of course I did, and don't call me Shirley."

The big man scoffed at her rehashed movie humor. "Edge warned you."

It was her turn to sneer, "And that's supposed to stop me?"

"Seems not, and now look where it's gotten you."

She craned her neck, looking around to make show. "Pitch black; funny, I was under the impression that a few overdue electric bills would do the job."

"Go ahead, laugh now you little lightning freak."

At this she glowered, sparking charges; despite the plastic hindering her powers she did it for intimidation's sake.

"I've always had a strange feeling about you." He glowered.

"That's funny, I don't even know you."

"Everyone knows about you. Sticking your little curly head where it doesn't belong," his sick smile then light in the dark, "Finally I'm gonna give you what you've been itching for."

If she could access her arms, she would've folded them in defiance. "Oh I think it's too late for that there; seeing as though I've already taken out half of Edge's goons." She smirked. "They never could keep up with me."

He didn't budge, only releasing a rumbling laugh, "That's just the tip of the iceberg. He's got you right where he wants you now."

"You seem so sure."

"Oh, I am. I know all about your tricks. There's no way you're gonna electrocute your way outta this one."

"Then perhaps he left something out."

"What's that?"

"This!" she exclaimed before pulling her disappearing act, leaving behind another swirling blue mist.

She was out, running now as fast as she could, possibly even faster than before. It wasn't long before they caught up to her. With newfound fear soon crippled her mind. She would've sworn her life had flashed before her eyes, if she hadn't noticed a few events missing.

Accompanying the screech of tires, she heard the man signal for fire. With a piercing scream she fell to the ground with a sickening thud. In a blurry haze she could hear sirens in the distance.

"Go! Go! Leave her, just go!" Rubber burned as they made their escape.

As she lay dying she twitched as electricity surged through her body. _Way in over my head_, she thought. "I really did it this time."

Sirens drew closer, the surging ceased as she faded to black.

Double doors flew open making way for the gurney. Medics flocked, assisting its push toward the emergency room.

"What happened?"

"Female, sixteen, gunshot wound to the left shoulder."

Slowly blinking her eyes, she stares at the ceiling becoming dizzier with every passing florescent light; voices a blur echoing through her ears.

"She's conscious." One of them noted.

"Can you hear me?"

"She's losing a lot of blood!"

Saying nothing, her chocolate eyes only stared. Her mind reverting back to the alley, she twitched at the blaring gunshots reverberating off the walls of her memory. _He shot me._ She thought, lying in painless shock. Following another electric surge, her heart silenced and her world once more faded black.

"What the heck was that!" One of the nurses exclaimed. "You saw that right?"

"She's unconscious, we don't have a heartbeat!"

"Chisholm, you did see that right! It – it was like, it was –"

Dr. Chisholm shook his head. "Stop your babbling Helms and get her to the O.R. stat!"

Bursting through another set of double doors, they frantically went to work attempting for resuscitation. Cutting open her shirt, they placed defibrillator pads on her chest and rib cage.

Rubbing the hand held panels together they gave the all clear.

"Clear!"

With a loud crackle and pop, lightning shot from her body, frying the machine and shocking the woman holding the panels, sending her slender frame pooling on the floor.

"Sarah!" A nurse screamed, rushing to the fallen doctor's side.

The medics scrambled in panic, trying to assess the fallen woman while attending to the girl all the same.

Nurse Helms cautiously approached the now flaming defibrillator; with an expression of shock and confusion he examined the damage while wondering the cause.

"Don't touch it! It must've been defective." Doctor Chisholm warned before his colleague could get any closer. He then turned to the others standing in shock around the cramped room

"Get us another defib here people! There's lawsuit written all over this if we don't get this girl back to the land of the living!" He ordered sternly.

…

"Where is she? Where's my daughter!"

"Sir I'm going to have to ask you to calm down and explain to me your problem." The receptionist spoke softly in efforts to tame the panicked man that had just entered the Met Gen lobby. Fear clouded his widened eyes, worry lines creasing his forehead. He spoke in frightful tones, bellowing as he looked around the room for signs of his little girl.

"Where is she, my little girl?"

By this point the blonde receptionist rounded the desk, approaching him with caution. "Sir," she called gingerly, "please, you have to calm down and tell us what's going on. We can't help you if you don't calm down."

"Please just tell me where she is; I have to know where she is."

"We can Sir, if you would just tell us what happened? Who are you looking for?"

Tears now falling freely from the man's eyes soaking his face. "My daughter, she was shot. I got the call from the police they said the ambulance came and she's here. Please tell me she's okay. Where is she? I have to see her. I have to know that she's okay."

The blonde woman turned to her coworker who sat behind the desk, their eyes meeting in acknowledgement. Taking a deep breath, the blonde readied herself to break the news.

"Sir, I'm afraid she –"

Before the woman could finish her sentence their attention was drawn to the sudden commotion of doctors and nurses running down the hallway. The uproar ensued as frantic exclamations could be heard echoing through the halls.

The sounds beckoned their curiosity, dragging them down the hall to see what caused such events. In approaching they could see smoke clouding the air the further down they went.

"What's going on? What happened?" they questioned a passing doctor.

"Malfunctioning equipment caused some minor explosions." The man explained, keeping the actual severity of the situation mum as to not scare the waiting patients within hearing distance.

"How does that happen?" the brunette now asked, watching on as employees scrabbled down the hall to assess the seemingly worsening situation.

The doctor in question shrugged. "Seems as though there was a defibrillator with some sort of defect; Janet told me that it just exploded as they were trying to resuscitate a patient."

It was the blonde's turn to frown in confusion this time, "How does that happen? Those are pricey machines, the latest models."

The doctor nodded, "That's what everyone else is thinking. There was something else that happened though." he commented upon his sudden recapping in his mind the conversation that he'd had with Janet just minutes ago.

"One of the assisting nurses said that they saw a strange blue light coming off of the patient's body. They described it as looking like electricity. Says it happened twice, once on the way in and then again in the O.R."

At this information the father gasped, his mind clicking in realization. Eyes staring, he zoned out as they continued to talk.

"Electricity?" Brunette questioned incredulously. "Maybe it could've come from the machine, maybe –"

Looking to her coworker the blonde shook her head, "That still doesn't explain the first sighting."

With a nod the doctor agreed. "I know. I –" before he could finish his reply he was interrupted, stepping out of the way as two residents raced another defibrillator passed them down the hall.

"I'll catch up with you girls later." He said, excusing himself, heading for the action.

The father stared down the hall in terror, listening closely as he heard more screams echo off the walls. He saw flashes of bright lightening followed by familiar azure smoke.

_Blue smoke_, his eyes widened as a new wave of fear crashed over him.

"Kourtnee!"

"Sir, no! Come back!" they yelled after him, watching as his form disappeared further into the cloud.

…

Her eyes shot open as she gasped for air. Upon sitting up she was met with the aftermath of her electrical seize. With every scorched surface, every strewn tool her fear increased. She examined herself, her arms, her hands looking for clues as to what went wrong.

_Did I do this?_ She questioned; with her eyes landing on the melting machines she got her answer and only one thing echoed in her mind.

"I've got to get out of here."

They were going to ask questions, she knew, once they get back on their feet they were going to start snooping around.

"They always do." She mumbled.

Tying her torn shirt together by the tassel belt around her waist, she readied herself for yet another stealthy disappearance. It was the sudden pain that shot through her shoulder at that moment that stopped her in her escaping tracks.

Turning eyes to the hurting arm, she saw the gunshot wound. It was only now that she noticed the perfuse bleeding followed by the sudden wooziness. She couldn't leave now; she'd bleed out if she did. Sighing she racked her already crowded mind for a cover up.

Moving to climb out of bed, she felt a familiar sensation, hearing a familiar hum; she tried to shake it off. Peeking through the closed blinds she saw as people clamored the hall, rushing forth and back. Doctors and nurses congregating together, she only guessed that they were trying to make sense out of the ordeal.

"There's no way I'm escaping through that." She mumbled under her breath.

Turning back she inched toward the door, stepping over fallen medical equipment. Reaching for the knob she felt the charge and this time unable to control it, she closed her eyes as stray lightening emanated from her body.

Unprepared, she panted catching her breath from the exertion. Standing straight, she tried to shake it off.

"What the –"

_The bullet_, she clued, _it's the bullet. Lead conductor…_

"Hey, where are you going?"

With widened eyes her head snapped up to see Dr. Chisholm standing in the doorway, looking just as nervous as she.

Thinking quickly on her feet she feigned panic, motioning around the room.

"What happened?"

Stepping closer, the doctor took survey of the room. "We're not sure actually."

"How are you not sure? There's a melting machine over there and you're not sure what happened?" She questioned playing up the drama, anything to draw the attention away from her as she currently fought hard against another shock.

Dr. Chisholm stuttered at this point, thinking to change the subject, He pointed to the bleeding arm.

"We need to get that out of your arm."

Swallowing hard, she found herself once again stuck. "Um…"

"Come on, back onto the bed so that we can get you down to the O.R. okay? We'll have you stitched up in no time." The doctor soothed motioning her toward the bed.

She complied although unsure; she could feel the charge threatening again. Lying onto the bed, she avoided eye contact with the watchful physician.

While being wheeled out of the room she hadn't expected to see her father.

"Dad!" she cried.

Turning on his heel, he faced his daughter, "Kourtnee!" he exclaimed in a mixture of worried relief. He ran catching up to her.

"Sir," three following nurses called after him. The one that caught up grabbed his arm. "Sir you can't be back here. You have to return to the waiting room."

Snatching his arm back, he ignored the order. "Kourtnee, what happened? How did this happen?"

Unable to disclose the exact reasons she looked to him with pleading eyes. "Dad,"

"Where is she going now?" he asked of the doctor.

Shaking his head he parroted the nurses. "Please sir, just go back to the lobby."

It was then that the father snapped, his voice rising in anger.

"My daughter is sitting here with a _bullet_ in her arm! I'm not going anywhere until I get answers!"

Startled by the exclamation, Dr. Chisholm made smart and heeded his words, telling him what he wanted to know.

"We have to get this bullet out of her, see what damage there is, if any." He paused glancing over his shoulder, "But now that you know, you are going to have to return to front and wait there. Depending on the outcome, it should all be done in relatively no time at all."

And with that Dr. Chisholm was gone, with both the nurses and the gurney in tow, disappearing into another set of doors. Sighing, the father finally complied returning to the lobby, trying his best to calmly endure the wait.

Clinching her fist, Kourtnee closed her eyes, feeling yet another charge coming. Try as she might however, she knew that she couldn't hold on much longer. With the lead bullet in her arm acting as a conductor to the overcharged electrical current in her body, there wasn't much she could do to keep control over the violent pulse.

The situation was completely new. Never before had she been shot. _Regardless, I should've known_, she scolded herself. The confidence that she felt over the perfecting of her abilities flew out of her mind's window. Now was new territory. Now was where her normally inactive fear gland triggered. Now was sketchy. Right now was her biggest pet peeve, uncertainty.

Seeing the many surgical instruments that lie in waiting didn't help her nerves, instead they increased her fears. _Third grade_, she mused to herself. It was the only other time that she'd been under the knife. _Tonsillectomy_. However that was before her DNA became supercharged, leaving now her present dread. _If a bullet makes me tick, what will a scalpel do?_

Though she couldn't stop it, she was about to receive her answer.

"Okay, Kourtnee is it?"

With avoiding eyes, she neither confirmed nor denied, but the doctor continued anyhow.

"I understand you're nervous but I promise it'll be virtually painless."

With a quirk of her right brow, Kourtnee frowned. "Unfortunately this is reality Doc, so tell me, should I start screaming now?"

With an amused shake of the head, Dr. Chisholm smirked. Rounding the bed, he gave an examining look to the injured arm.

"Well you aren't losing nearly as much blood as you were when they bought you in. That's definitely good." He gave a pleasant smile, before looking a little closer. "Luckily that little silver sucker isn't buried far, so this'll take even shorter the time."

Giving a heavy sigh, Kourtnee nodded looking around. "So, where're the needles."

Dr. Chisholm's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Y'know, shoot shoot, numb numb."

"Oh we don't need any of that for this. That'd be a wasting anesthetic."

Watching trio of doctor and nurses ready themselves for the task at hand, Kourtnee felt her stomach drop along with another sting of burning pain from the bulleted wound.

"Well I've always wanted the full world war one experience."

At this, the shortest nurse chuckled, "At least your humor's intact." She smiled to her.

_Even though it shouldn't be_, she thought grimly, gritting her teeth at yet another sudden charge. Luckily for her the medics chalked it up to shoulder's pain. In reality, other than the occasional shooting burn, she felt no pain dire enough for such a reaction.

"Okay, here we go."

Feeling the wet application of alcohol on her arm, she tried all that she knew to distract her mind, even though she knew that wouldn't do any difference; it wasn't her mind that surged it was her body.

"And now for the tweezers…"

Her fingers twitched. _Please…_

"And, just a little closer…"

She could hear the hum. _Please no!_

"Do you hear that?"

Making contact with the bullet, the doctor proceeded to pull it out with caution. It was then that Kourtnee's eyes shot open. "Get down!" she cried her warning just as it was too late.

The doctor's screams ignited as Kourtnee's body bolted thunderous lightning, its crackle echoing through the room. Dr. Chisholm watched in horror as his colleagues were sent flying backward after being struck.

"What the – what did you just do!" he cried looking back to the panicked girl, now standing. Dr. Chisholm hurriedly backed away.

"What are you?"

With hands held up in defense, Kourtnee shook her head. "I didn't mean to hurt them." Her voice came shakily.

Disbelieving, the doctor rushed to the door, storming the halls, calling for help. Residents came running to his plea, however returning to the room they were left with nothing but a fog of blue.

Poofing back into the atmosphere, Kourtnee found herself in an empty hall around the corner from the waiting room. Jogging the distance she spotted her father upon entry, immediately he shot up out of his seat running to meet her.

With his eyes drawn down to her bloodstained arm, he gasped, finding himself once again in a state of panic.

"Sweetheart, you arm!" he exclaimed.

"We have to leave now!" she spoke as lowly as possible as to not disrupt anymore the already shocked occupants of the room.

Catching the dire tone of her voice he looked around for the cause. "What? What happened?"

Grabbing his hand, she led him back down to the empty hall of which she'd just come.

"Explanations in the car, right now we have to go, the jig is up!"

Heeding her word, he followed his daughter to a secluded corner.

"Hold on to me." she instructed.

Closing his eyes, "I've got you." he nodded; and before he knew it they were gone from the building and back into the parking lot.

Opening his brown orbs, he looked around seeing the azure mist that he famously connected with his teenage daughter.

"This would actually help if I knew where the car was!" she exclaimed peering about.

Her father grabbed a hold of her hand again, this time however leading her to the car that was parked just a row over.

Once in, Kourtnee collapsed against the seat, slumping down in a metaphorical catching of her breath. Looking at the now drying blood that covered most of her upper left bicep she sighed. It had been a night, one that she just wanted to be over already.

Only now, she knew this was just the beginning because now came the questions.

_5, 4, 3, 2..._

"Care to explain exactly _how _this happened!" he father exclaimed motioning to her arm as he pulled out of the Met Gen parking lot.

"Not exactly." she mumbled, looking out of the window.

Now that he saw that she was okay, the majority of his worry subsided making way for anger. "Kourtnee," he said sternly. She could practically feel him glaring holes into the side of her head.

"Dad, there's nothing to say."

"Oh really, half the time I can't get you to shut up. Now you get shot in the arm and suddenly you don't want to talk at all?"

She sighed, "Dad, I can't talk about it."

"Oh you can and you will _right now_!"

Rolling her eyes, she shifted in her seat. "I got mugged." She lied.

"Mugged?" he questioned incredulously.

Arching her brows she scoffed, "We live in Metropolis, dad, its common."

Ignoring her attitude, driven by his overt paranoia, her father continued to pry for the truth.

"I'm only going to ask one more time, understand?"

Sighing heavily once more, despite knowing completely well that when her dad got angry he meant business, she couldn't cave in and confess.

"I'm serious, I was mugged." She said again, keeping her voice low in hopes to convey some sort of seriousness.

His stunned silence told her that he'd brought her story causing her to breathe a mental sigh of relief.

"How did that happen?"

"I was on my way into the convenient store and that's when it happened," she fibbed. Now it was only a matter of his reaction that would put it into successful motion.

"_What_ happened exactly?" his words were cautious, almost as if it he knew her answer.

_Good_, she thought.

"There was a robbery. I stopped it."

Looking out the corner of her eye she saw him look as if he were about to jump out of his skin. To his dismay, her statement didn't take him by surprise. He huffed pulling to a stop at a red light.

"Kourtnee what were you thinking! You could've gotten killed!" he exclaimed angrily.

"Oh excuse me," she held her hands in defense, "I'm sorry, I didn't know that I was supposed to let the elderly get jacked instead," she snapped sarcastically.

Shooting her a glare, he bristled, "What were you thinking? Wha – what possessed you get involved! I've always told you that that little hero complex of yours was gonna get you in trouble, didn't I?"

"Dad –"

"You just couldn't call for help like normal people, could you? You know, for that you're just like your mother, Lord rest her soul."

"Dad –"

Pausing from his rant, he snapped his head at her. "What!"

She pointed ahead, "The light's green."

Narrowing his eyes at her, he turned his attention back to the road.

Kourtnee bit her tongue to keep from snickering, however the funny soon faded as pain took over.

"You know, this is really starting to hurt." She complained looking down at the gauzed wound for the umpteenth time.

"Did they sow it?"

"No."

Hanging left on the next street, his eyes widen once more. "What do you mean no?"

"See, that's the reason why we had to leave so quickly. Turns out that the bullet that was lodged in my arm caused me to spark uncontrollably, and let's just say I was milliseconds away from blowing up Met Gen."

"The bullet was conducting the current," Her father chimed knowingly.

"Yup, and tiny metal object plus supercharged me doesn't equal anything pretty."

Pulling together the collar of her ripped tunic, she pouted, "And this was my favorite shirt too."

Her father baffled by her easy tone shook his head. "Do even you realize just how much danger you put yourself into tonight?"

"I know dad," she said as though getting shot and electrocuting a hospital were perfectly normal, "I know."

He shook his head. "No, I don't think you understand Kourtnee. You're traipsing around Metropolis playing heroine!"

Adolescently sucking her teeth, she rolled her eyes. "So I had a run in with a couple of two bit criminals looking for rent money."

He shook his head once more, "Regardless of your special abilities, you can die just like everyone else."

"I know that." She quipped.

"Well maybe you should start acting like you do," he asserted back.

To this she responded not, choosing to let silence rule the air between them. Kourtnee sit regretfully in her guilt, while her father sat in a complex mixture of worry, fear, and anger. However overall, he was thankful that the night took with it no casualties. He was thankful that his paranoia hadn't been proven right when thinking that this shooting was a warning from his old buddies in Intergang. He was beginning to think that for once in his life he could breathe easy. That maybe he was out of the clutches of Morgan Edge for good.

Amongst her thoughts, there wasn't a happy medium. Her plan against Edge had backfired. He'd taken out threats however, so had she. Unfortunately he'd come through with his a little earlier than she'd expected. Now, she needed a way to fix her problems. She had to get back at Edge, exact her revenge against Intergang; all the while keeping her dad in the dark.


	2. Chapter 2

_Three months earlier…_

"I _am_ the greatest!"

"Don't gloat, you haven't won yet."

Emitting vain laughter, subconsciously scooting to the edge of her seat, Kourtnee gripped the game controller in her hands, rapidly tapping a series of colorful buttons as she punched and jabbed toward virtual victory.

"Two seconds baby and you're out! Look, look…_boom_ TKO! Peace out sucka!" She exclaimed hopping out of her seat. Spreading her arms, she took a bow. "Thank ya very much!"

"Whatever, you got lucky that time."

Pushing chestnut curls from her face, Kourtnee laughed, "Oh com'on Rory, don't be such a spoilsport." She watched as the blonde slouched in his chair trying to cover up the disappointment that he felt over his third loss, his hazel eyes intentionally avoiding hers as he continued to thumb aimlessly through the game menu.

"Com'on, you wanna play again? I'll totally let you kick my butt this time." she smiled charmingly, reclaiming her seat on the couch next to him.

Amidst their fourth round, the two were tied neck and neck. Both inching to the edge of the couch, they cheered for their player with every punch.

"We'll see who gets the K.O now. Com'on, c – hey!" Rory exclaimed as the TV screen went black, suddenly shutting off.

"Play time's over kiddies, you got illicit activities to perform."

The two turned to see three men enter the room. The tallest one motioned for them to follow. With a collective sigh Kourtnee stood, moving to the office with Rory in tow.

Perching on the edge of the large table of which they were all seated around, Kourtnee folded her arms, eyeing the manila folder that one of the men held.

Kourtnee could feel her dread increasing, finding it hard to fight off the icky feeling that crept over her. It happened every time they met in this room. Each manila folder bought a new task, which brought with it more guilt to pile onto her conscience and more skeletons to stuff in her closet.

"Another grand theft auto, grand larceny maybe?" she questioned, her voice drained of every ounce of enthusiasm that it'd possessed moments before.

"Oh no, we're stepping you to the big leagues now." The taller man, known as Jason spoke.

Rory furrowed his brow, "Big leagues?"

The man to the left of Jason, known as Murphy, nodded. "This one comes from Edge himself."

Regret now settled at the pit of her stomach. Morgan Edge, leader of Intergang rarely graced them with his presents. She wouldn't know what he looked like had it not been for their meeting a few months back. When she'd signed her life over to him as she reluctantly volunteered to be branded by Intergang. Word of him had been around, though she already knew enough to expect this new mission to bring the worst.

Placing the folder on the table, the third guy Marco slid it toward Kourtnee who looked at it as thought it withheld the black plague.

"Hope you two like the taste of blood."

Immediately she feared the worst. Upon opening the flap skimming over the task description her eyes slightly widened as they landed on the bolded word, **Assassination**.

"This is a hit," she stated, trying her best to keep her voice steady.

"Yes." Jason confirmed simply.

"But why give it to us?" Rory questioned.

Marco piped up, "Because us normies couldn't cut it, so Edge decided that his band of _freaks_ would be a better fit."

Rory glared daggers at him and his emphasis on the word 'freak'.

"We're _not_ freaks!" he seethed.

Waving him off, Jason stood from his seat. "Save it for your soap box kid." He moved for the door signaling Marco and Murphy to follow.

"Looks like you need some time to yourselves." Marco teased, mocking their queasy expressions. _Amateurs_, he sneered.

Kourtnee pushed her nerves aside long enough to cut her eyes at him.

"We suit up in three hours." Jason called just before closing the door behind them.

The pair sat quietly starring at the folder. Neither of them wanted to know anymore than what they'd found out. The fact that they would have to kill someone was enough, knowing the personal facts wouldn't make the job any easier.

"Do you think we're the only two?" Rory questioned after a while, Kourtnee didn't miss the distance in his voice. She knew that he was unsettled about their new job as well.

She shrugged her shoulders, "I dunno," she answered absently. Then again she guessed that if there were going to be more of them they'd be here.

Slipping into concentration she tried to wonder why she and Rory had been hand chosen by Edge. Of course she knew why she was chosen; given Edge's history with her father it was no wonder why she had a perpetual target on her back. Of Rory's significance, Kourtnee wasn't sure.

Aside from his metahuman status, she didn't know much about his past. Never asking how he got hooked up with Intergang, she always assumed that he was roped in during Edge's citywide search for the meteor-infected. Just like the other five were that Edge had acquired. Claiming them to be the future of the crime world, he decided to up the ante by arming the already notorious Intergang with its very own version of Special Forces.

Grabbing the folder from the table, Rory began looking it over with a careful eye. Watching him, Kourtnee shook her head gravely. "We don't need to know the facts."

Flipping to the next page he glanced up at her. "As much as I don't want to do this Kourt, it has to be done right."

Standing from her perching position she looked at Rory, eyes widened in disbelief. "How could you say that, Rory? This is someone's life!" she exclaimed, fighting back the uncharacteristic tears that threatened to spill.

Dropping the folder on the table Rory stood, "It's theirs or ours!" he exclaimed, "Forgive me if I'm not ready to die just yet!"

Kourtnee stared at him, shocked by his coldness. While she hadn't known a great deal about his past, over the last five months they had become good friends. When joining Intergang, she hadn't expected to make any friends or really to meet anyone around her age however, there had been a few others and Rory. They meshed almost immediately; they even teamed up on missions. He'd sworn that one day he'd get away and put Intergang behind him. However, right here and now it seemed as though he were beginning to fall into step.

"I'm not either Rory –" she began to reason when he'd interjected.

"Then help me Kourt, I can't do this without you."

Despite the hardness of his voice, Kourtnee could hear the desperation of his plea. Looking into his eyes she'd only felt this torn one other time in her life. She'd do anything for Rory, right about now she was regretting that he knew that.

Tearing her eyes away from his, she paced toward the door. He watched after her, awaiting her answer. He knew she was hesitant. It was unmistakably written all over her. _Literally_, he thought. It was as if every emotion that she felt showcased starkly on her face. The fact that she hadn't bothered to put on her perfected poker face that she'd famously wore in the face of danger, had made it all the more obvious. _She was_, dare he think it, _scared_.

"We have to do this." He spoke, the edge in his voice slightly subsided.

_No we don't_, she wanted to scream. However she knew in her mind his words to be true, especially for her. Not only was her life of the line, but her father's was as well. _What a waste_, she thought, _what a waste it would be for me to put him back in danger_. It was his very life that she'd given up her own for. It was for him that she'd signed Intergang's binding contract, to protect him.

Grabbing for the doorknob, she glanced up at the silver wall clock and then over her shoulder, locking in on Rory. Counting forward three hours, she fought the nausea that accompanied the words that had formed in her mouth.

"Let me know when it's one o'clock."

Watching as she exited the door, Rory gave a nod, trying hard to fight off his own regrets.

She had a right mind to go and find Morgan, tell him where he could stick that manila folder of his. Better yet, tell him where she wanted to stick it. Yell him something furious and then storm out of his office with her last words being her resignation. She was furious, even now as she climbed into the back of the van that acted as one of Intergang's many getaway vehicles. _A white windowless van_, she scoffed in her mind, _you would think it would be less conspicuous_.

Scooting to her usual spot in far right corner of the vehicle, she saw that she and Rory weren't the only one's assigned to the mission. After he'd climbed in a slender blue-eyed brunette followed behind.

"Kourtnee." She greeted stiffly as she took a seat against the left wall of the van. Rory sat in between the girls, making room for Murphy.

"Sabrina." Kourtnee returned in the stiff manner.

Turning knowing eyes to her, Rory shook his head at the girls' childish behavior. He'd never caught on to why they didn't like each other. He'd vaguely remembered something about the day Kourtnee joined; he'd heard something about Sabrina being jealous of Kourtnee's abilities, which to him was completely ridiculous. However, he wouldn't put it past Sabrina; he couldn't trust her as far as he could throw her.

"Alright, put away the claws kitties." Jason said as slid into the driver's seat.

An hour's past found Kourtnee slouching into the corner with closed eyes. Rubbing her temples, she tried to soothe her threatening impulse to disappear into thin air. As enticing as it sounded she knew that it would fix nothing. Her mind kept telling her to think of a way, a way out of this mess before things got too far. _Or farther that it's already gotten rather_.

Casting a glance to her, Sabrina furrowed her brow. "Something wrong Kourtnee?"

Sensing the catty tone in her voice, Kourtnee ignored her question.

"Hope you aren't falling asleep on the job," Sabrina smirked.

_Ignore, ignore, ignore._

"I don't want to have to pick up your slack again." she finished.

Unable to contain her words, Kourtnee quipped coolly, "How would you like to taste about a hundred volts?"

Sabrina frowned, narrowing her eyes at the curly brunette before looking away, glaring at Murphy as he snickered.

Kourtnee expelled a feint sigh. To this Rory reached over taking her hand in his, her breath slightly hitched at the action. Intertwining his fingers with hers, Rory raised her hand to his mouth, brushing a kiss against the soft caramel skin. His gesture didn't go unseen by the van's other back seat occupants, but he could care less.

Subduing the confusion that tried to occupy her mind just then, she reminded herself that she had to think of an escape plan rather than concentrating on Rory's sudden display of affection. She tried to zone in on the anger that she felt toward Edge, instead it was the idle circles that Rory's thumb traced in the palm of her hand that was making her forget even that.

Deciding that she couldn't be distracted, Kourtnee gingerly withdrew her hand, placing it back into her lap paying no attention to the cold sensation that it felt after departing from the warmth of Rory's.

_Focus_, she ordered of herself. It would be to no use however, as the van jerked to a stop, the hour was finally here.

"Show time!" Jason exclaimed cutting the ignition.

As everyone filed out of the van, Kourtnee took a deep breath; that queasy feeling was back.

* * *

><p>tbc depending on reviews...<p> 


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